Growing Automatic-Flowering (autoflowering) Strains

Bob Marley

Growing Automatic-Flowering Strains

    Autoflowering cannabis strains can be the best solution in some cases. Before you start growing in the first place, you have to decide what you want to grow. Obviously, newbie growers tend to choose their strain based on their preferences for the stuff - meaning we're all more interested in what we're going to smoke in the end. Experienced botanists know how many surprises await the gardener who has not bothered to make inquiries about his plants. Therefore, before buying marijuana seeds, "try on" the properties of the variety for your conditions.

    This article is about autoflowering strains, how they differ from photoperiodic strains and how to grow autoflowering cannabis varieties at home and anywhere else, we will also try to answer the most common questions.

What is the fundamental difference between autoflowering marijuana varieties?

An autoflower is a cannabis strain that enters the flowering phase regardless of light regime as soon as the plant reaches a certain age.

    Without digging into biochemistry, the feminized and regular seeds of autoflowering cannabis strains owe their magical properties ( meaning the plants switch to flower the moment they reach a certain size) to the weed cannabis, Ruderalis. Biologists are trying to determine the species affiliation of Ruderalis, but there is no definite answer yet - wild cannabis is either a subspecies of sativa or another variety of cannabis. The only thing we know is that it is hardly a special kind of cannabis: different cannabis species in various regions have learned to flower regardless of light through natural selection - in colder regions, those bushes that matured early had time to produce offspring. Thus, autoflowering is an evolutionary skill rather than an innate species trait.

Features of autofloweris from the grow point of view

    Like any path, autoflowering cannabis will not work for every grower. The goal of the grow sets the volume and quality of the harvest. For instance, in commercial cultivation, autoflowers are only appropriate as a side project.

Harvest

    Since the vegetation of autoflowering marijuana is much faster, the plant does not have time to develop a powerful trunk and branching structure, which would allow for a solid weight of flowers. Therefore, one autoflowering plant yields little - 30-60 g of dry buds, depending on care and conditions.

    Nevertheless, it would be illiterate to call fast vegetation a "disadvantage". Sometimes there is a need for a quick harvest - to grow and harvest in a month and a half. In this case, planting seeds of photoperiodic cultivars is barbaric!  Their fertility for such a short period will not reveal itself in any way, Their fertility will not manifest itself in such a short time, such a terrible harvest is just a waste of quality genetic material. Therefore, remember, beginner: for ultra-short growing, choose autoflowerings.

Potency

    In fact, autoflowering cannabis is no weaker than photoperiodic cannabis. But your stuff will indeed be inferior in cannabinoid content to cannabis that spent a couple of months on vegetation and another 6-8 weeks on flowering - because the short life cycle of autoflowering cannabis doesn't allow you to accumulate such a concentration of active substances. This is why autoflowers are not grown for sale, when the requirements for the initial product are high.

General description and life cycle of autoflowering cannabis strains

    In its appearance, bushes are not large, not distinguished by branching, and inflorescences are also small. Fertilize autoflowering on the vegetation only twice, no more. In 2-3 weeks after the appearance of seedlings, vegetation ends, cannabis enters the flowering phase and matures 6-7 weeks. The small size is not only due to the short growing season - the first autoflowers were obtained by crossing the hybrid Sativa ruderalis with Indica. The resulting plants inherited a sativa-like high growth, so fast-maturing and small specimens were selected.

Where is the best place to grow autoflowering marijuana

    The Ruderalis genes make autoflowering strains compact, resistant to cold, diseases and parasites, as well as undemanding in care. The conclusion is that autoflowerings are perfect for the outdoors. Some growers come to the plantation with autoflowers only 2-3 times during the entire period of cultivation (quite short, however) - they almost do not need care. Of course, with careful help from the grower and fertilizer feeding, the result will be noticeably more attractive.

    Inoor, they also grow autoflowering cannabis varieties when the harvest is needed quickly. Remember, with that subtile build, they need less fertilizer... but more light. Light the autoflowers 20/4 or around the clock, with such a short plant life the best thing a grower can do is to provide intensive daylight. On flowering it makes sense to give the bushes a night's rest for the production of psychoactive substances - then switch to 18/6 with the start of flowering.

Is it possible to clone autoflowering cannabis strains?

    The answer is no, cloning autoflowers is not practical. Having cut a sprout from a vegetating bush, you will see both of them bloom in a week. Only the mother plant will delight at least a dozen or two inflorescences, and the poor little clone will proudly shine with a single bump on its head.

Methods to increase yield - pruning, FIM, ducking, super cropping

    Among the above, only bending and supercropping (in a low growbox) are appropriate for the autoflowers. Never cut autoflowers; their short life and puny constitution make it impossible to shred the plants to any advantage.  Cutting will only kill the bush, causing it stress from which the autoflower is unlikely to recover. It is recommended to bend or spread the branches to the sides for better illumination.

High-yielding autoflowering strains featuring high THC

    So that the reader can experience firsthand the achievements of modern breeding, we have compiled a brief comparative table analyzing the performance of new autoflowering developments compared to traditional autoflowerings and photoperiods.

Marijuana strain	Outdoor harvest (g/m2)	THC
AK-47 XL (Photoperiodic)	300-400	21-23%
Deadryder (Traditional autoflowering)	30-50	19%
Auto Gagarin	500-600	31%
Auto Opium	500-1000	29%
Auto Big Demon	800	21-23%
Auto AK-47XL	500-600	22-24%

    Currently, the most cannabinoid-rich and prolific of the autoflowers is Auto Gagarin. If the plantation is used tightly and there is enough commitment to the process, 600 g/m2 can be harvested, a record weight. For commercial cultivation, purchasing Auto Gagarin seeds is the best option among the autoflowers. The THC level of yielding Auto Gagarin can reach up to 30%, but of course you will only be able to unlock the full potential of the plant if you try hard enough.

    The other champions in terms of yield are Auto Big Bang, Auto Big Demon, Auto Opium и Auto AK-47 XL. Feminized auto-flowering seeds do not differ from regular ones, except for the guarantee of female sex of bushes - feminization does not affect unpretentiousness and content of useful substances.

    Of the above, I would like to highlight Auto AK-47 XL as the most stunning one - for some people such a killer stuff may be too overwhelming, so be careful with the dosage. Also, Auto Big Bang is recommended to those wishing to grow a strain as close as possible to the classic Afghani. This strain is one of the highest yielding autoflowering cannabis strains.

12.02.2017

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